The present application relates to instrumentation and techniques useful in orthopedic surgery, and in particular to instrumentation useful in compressing, distracting or otherwise adjusting the relative positioning of bones or bony tissues, one non-limiting example of which includes vertebrae of the spinal column.
A variety of spinal injuries and deformities can occur due to trauma, disease, or congenital effects. These injuries and diseases can, ultimately, result in the misalignment of two or more vertebrae of the spinal column which may cause pain or other discomfort. Correction of such misalignment is often addressed by surgical procedures which utilize one or more interbody implants, plates, tethers, cables and/or rods to hold the vertebrae in a corrected orientation achieved by moving the vertebrae during the surgical procedure.
Several types of tools for moving vertebrae or other bones into a desired orientation during surgery to address trauma or correct abnormalities are known. Among these include instruments that use cables to pull together bones or artificial implants placed in such bones, scissor-like tools that apply leverage around a central fulcrum to move bones or implants toward or away from each other, and even the surgeon's own hands. Such manipulations or adjustments of bones are indicated for correction of a number of orthopedic conditions. For example, in the case of a scoliosis or other abnormal positioning of the spine, one or more vertebrae or vertebral segments may require compression or distraction with respect to adjacent bones to achieve a better or more normal position. In the case of a trauma, for example, after an injury to a bone or adjacent tissue or removal of a cancerous or other mass, compression or distraction of tissue may be required to induce proper healing, to accommodate a therapy such as implantation of spacing or holding devices or of therapeutic material (e.g. bone morphogenic protein (BMP), allograft, autograft or other osteogenic substances, or medications), or for other reasons. Prior compression and/or distraction tools can be difficult, awkward and/or time consuming to use in certain surgical pathologies or situations. In addition, the utility of some instruments can be limited to performing only one aspect of a surgical procedure. Thus, there remains a need in the art for such instruments that provided advantages over existing tools.